visually sex Hahns?? or macaws in general?

[MommyBird]

I've been looking on CL for about a year for a buddy for Jimi. No great hurry.
Hahns are few and far between, and they've all been said to be female.
I really think a male is necessary. I think Jimi would be very overprotective of a female and life would be he**.

Well, one came up tonight. He's only 10 months old. The pet store in LA "said" he was a male. No paperwork.

Is there any folklore on visually sexing Hahns or macaws?

I'm sort of inclined to pass on this as they want way too much $$$ , and I can get a DNA sexed baby from a local aviary since I'm not in a hurry. But part of me wants to think on it a bit.
Mostly because the ad came up today and my husband passed away on this date a few years ago.
So, well, you know how it is

 

[expressmailtome]

I am sorry but they can not be sexed visually.

Matt

 

[MommyBird]

thanks, I knew there was nothing obvious or reliable. But, I hear some things about lighter or darker eyes, square vs rounder heads and was just wondering if there was anything like that for macaws.

 

[expressmailtome]

No. In macaws the eyes are the same for males and females. Also, I have never heard of any studies done on head structure either.

Matt

 

[marian]

awww Debbie I am very sorry.Don't know what you should do either.I don't know a thing about macaws.

 

[TextsFromParrots]

I think any way that would be out there, wouldn't be exactly really that reliable. I hear a lot of ways that you can 'tell', but then I hear that folks are always finding out it's a boy or girl instead of what they thought.

 

[MommyBird]

Thanks guys. I feel better having asked.
I think I'll email back that I pass unless she's willing to DNA sex. It just is important to me.
I already have a crazy Amazon with a girlfriend, and while I cope with that no problem I'm actually more scared of Jimi's beak on just a regular day. No girlfriends for him.

 

[Holiday]

I understand. I personally think the shapes of the faces are slightly (oh so slightly) different in some cases. The girlies sometimes (not always) have a smaller white facial patch and more delicate features, but you'd only really be able to see the difference if a male were nearby. If you compare a picture of, say, Joanna's Mia to, say, Andrea's Honu, I think you can sort of see it. BUT, it's not anything that you'd be able to use reliably. Even my vet was apparently wrong about Sonny being a girl--DNA test came back male and shocked us both.

Here's a side-by-side of Max and Mattie (using their baby pictures the week I got them to control for age). I think he looks very "boy Hahn's" and she looks very "girl Hahn's" :

 

[MommyBird]

Thanks Holiday, I actually do think I can see she does have a smaller white patch! But you are right, it wouldn't be something to go by if it really matters to you.
One of these days we will find ourselves another boy - or more likely I'll go the the breeder. But I'd really really welcome an older male who needs a good home.

 

[Monica]

I know someone who sexed B&G's by their nares. Although not always right, she was accurate more often than not. I never did figure it out myself...

I suspect it *may* be possible to sex by the length of the tail feathers, with males having a slightly longer tail than a females, which has held true with budgies and tiels that I've tried this method on. (knew their sex prior to trying the "technique") However, it's not accurate, as I can't say if it makes a difference as to whether the birds are mature or immature, but I am sure that it *will* make a difference between sub-species as well as individuals, since not all birds of a given species are the same exact size. Some birds are naturally bigger or smaller than others, and this probably plays into effect. Plus side, at least you have even odds of being wrong or right!

 

[MommyBird]

Thanks Monica,
It does make me think that we humans need to be more sensitive visually.
I mean, we often say all the birds look alike, but the birds are picking out individuals and sexes. Probably by visual cues but maybe in wavelengths we can't see.
I do know my birds alert me to all kinds of things going on in their environment that I see after they've told me about it.
Seems like somebody should be able to figure it out!

 

[Monica]

If you look at certain species under a black light, some of them can look quite different! Some really light up! And apparently, in parrotlet mutations, it makes sexing some of them extremely easy. There's even one amazon species that visually look the same, but when measurements and other things are done with the birds, it is possible to easily sex them (without DNA or SS). Unfortunately, I don't believe these techniques work with conures or macaws. The tail feather might, but like I mentioned previously, not quite reliable!